posted on May 1, 2001 05:54:12 AM new
My main biz is books and a certain number of my bidders are other sellers. Normally that's no problem. Except for one. This guy wanted a "rate" on a bunch of books that he bought from me and I don't have a problem with that--it was a very nice order. Then he buys a couple more and presumes to tell me that he's sending x for shipping when I already asked y for shipping.
This guy insists, that despite the published rates, media mail costs less if you ship locally, and he cited an example from his experience. Was this ever true? It certainly does not seem that way now.
FWIW, I appreciate good customers, but I really do not want to be hassled about shipping charges. Mine are simple and very reasonable compared to others.
posted on May 1, 2001 06:17:11 AM new
Media Mail is a fixed rate regardless of where it's going in the US.
However, sometimes the postal clerks do lower the rate to Bound Printed Matter which does vary by zip code. And it's largely a matter of opinion as to whether regular books (not catalogs, for example) qualify. They used to insist at my post office that regular books cannot go BPM, now they're pretty much routinely changing it to BPM if their computers show it as a lower rate.
The problem here is twofold:
1. Your buyer is trying to change terms after the sale, which isn't his place to do so.
2. If you get a postal clerk who insists on not changing the rate to BPM, you'll have to pay for Media Mail anyway.
Also, listing a fixed rate in the auction is much easier than having to wait for all your buyers to email you their zip codes before you can quote the actual shipping charge in the EOA notice. I don't mind doing that for a few auctions, but since I also sell books, I'll be darned if I'm going to ask for everyone's zip code so I can calculate whether BPM will be cheaper for them than Media Mail.
posted on May 1, 2001 06:59:36 AM new
I usually base my rates on Media Mail; if there's any profit from going Bound Printed Matter, it's not much with the little volume I do. If there was a big discrepancy, I'd refund an appropriate portion.
posted on May 1, 2001 09:58:39 AM new
Well I was wondering why this really bothered me. The old gut instinct that something just wasn't right. Turns out that the guy charges noticeably more than I do for shipping, including second items. Something very wrong with that picture.
This guy earned himself a blacklist from my auctions. I feel better now
posted on May 1, 2001 05:01:18 PM new
Yes, Bound Printed Matter can definitely be used to ship books (I got that information directly from a person at the Postal Explorer). But there is a weight limit of 15 pounds. If you are shipping only a couple of zones away, the difference between BPM and Media Mail can be substantial. If you use BPM, be sure to mark it "Return Postage Guaranteed" if you want it back in the event of non-delivery or refusal.
posted on May 2, 2001 01:45:37 AM new
One caveat on BPM. If the package is undeliverable - wrong address, etc. - then the PO will not return BPM to sender as with Media Rate. This may be one way the get all those books for their eBay auctions.
